The endearment settled into his chest, making it ache in the best way, and the words made him smile. “Love.” He gave Alain another quick kiss, then sat to enjoy his breakfast.
Neil came wandering in. “Kitten. You have a good day, hmm?”
“Yes, Sir. You gon’ sit and eat real quick? If not, I’ll make it into a sandwich.”
“Make mine a sandwich, please? My commute isn’t as leisurely as our Master’s here.” Neil kissed Alain’s cheek and pulled a travel mug down from a cabinet.
“I wouldn’t call a crosstown walk because there’s no subway leisurely, but…”
“Walk, my ass. You take cab or an Uber.” Neil filled his mug and added some milk.
He chuckled because it was true. “I walk home, mostly.”
Alain made Neil a sandwich wrapped in a paper towel.
“Mmhmm. Thanks, Kitten. Y’all be good now. I’m out.”
“You too, Smokey. Be safe.” He listened for the front door closing, then dug into his eggs. “I’ll be home around six. Master Neil says he’ll be home around seven.”
“Yes, Sir. I’ve got a full day. Chou asked if I could make bread. I guess he loves himself a jelly sandwich.”
“He does. Right around bedtime. He’s a snacker.”Good call, Neil. “Your set of keys is hanging on the hooks by the door. It’s on a really ugly Statue of Liberty keychain.”
“Yes, Sir. Is there an alarm code I need to use? And did you want me to pick you up anything at the store?”
He pointed to the fridge. “The list is up there. There’s a fob on your keychain, and the alarm turns on when you leave and back off when you approach the door. Oh.” He pulled out his wallet. “Credit card.”
“Are you sure? I swear to be good, but—I want you to be sure, Sir.”
Was he sure?“Did you plan to pay for our groceries from your own pocket? What do we have, if we don’t have trust, little one?”
“Chou gave me a big handful of cash.” Alain looked more than a little wide-eyed. “If I can leave that here, I’d rather. Thank you.”
Neil. He ought to have known. He chewed a bite of his breakfast thoughtfully. “You should, and you can keep that for yourself.”
“I don’t want to be mugged, you know? Chou says he’ll talk to you about banks and all, but that would take a couple three days.”
“Come sit, boy.” He waved Alain over and as soon as Alain sat, he took the boy’s hand. “You’re going to be okay today. I wouldn’t leave you if I didn’t know you would be. Carry the new cell phone we got you and call or text if you need us.” They’d made sure Alain had all the numbers he needed—His and Neil’s, Cyrus, Peter and Brandon. “This is an amazing city. You’re going to learn to love it again, I promise.”
Those dark eyes filled with tears, and Alain leaned in. “I want to. I do, honest. I want to be easy here, swear to god.”
“I know.” Poor boy. He shifted his seat closer. “This is hard, Alain. I hope you know that. You’re not failing; you’re plenty smart, more than capable…this is just hard. And you’re doing great.”
“It is, but I ain’t giving up. I want this to be my home. I want both y’all. This will be fine.” Alain nodded to him, so very determined.
“My sweet boy.” He kissed Alain gently. “This will be good. Very good. Neil and I need you.”
“Oh… I need you both, M’sieur. It’s like a lock in a key.” Alain tilted his head. “Or a key in a lock, if there were two keys, or two locks? Good lord.”
Alain made him laugh. “I know. I feel just exactly like that myself.” Though who were the keys and who were the locks really ought to be fairly clear.
Alain hugged him tight. “You’d like, wouldn’t you? Oh, y’all do make me happy, yessir, you do.”
He returned the hug, pleased to hold his boy close. It could have been a long road to happy for Alain, and he was relieved and gratified that they’ll all found this together. Alain had made Neil possible for him, made his family possible. “We’ve got you. We want you to be happy and know this is your home.”
“Yes, Sir, and I want you to know you can believe in me.”
He leaned back and looked right into Alain’s lovely, hopeful eyes. “I know I can. I have complete faith in you, Alain. We both do.” He stood, pulling Alain up with him. “I don’t want to be late. You have a good day, and don’t hesitate to call if you need anything or just need to hear a friendly voice. Okay?”